change

Last night as I got in bed I couldn't help but take note of the fact that I was able to get in bed easily for a change.  I find myself frequently discouraged by the things that I cannot do, but last night I was excited to realize that things are slowly getting easier (I'm three weeks out from my surgery).   Pre-surgery and for awhile after, I had to have Darren hold my splint covered leg in one place and then my ankle as well.  I couldn't even lift it up to my bed without feeling my broken ankle bones.  He had to do all of the work for me and it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt.   It was horrific.  But little by little, things are getting better and I don't want to take it for granted. I've come a long way and today I want to count my blessings...even if they do seem little.

As I laid in bed last night I got tickled as I looked around the room.  My room looks like it belongs in a nursing home.  Here are a few things that caught my eye...

I have to sleep with my leg elevated above my heart.  That takes three pillows.)

I get to sleep with this monstrosity on.  I'm a lucky girl. ha  Cale even asked me the other night where daddy sleeps because he couldn't figure out how daddy would fit in bed with me, the boot and all of my pillows.  There are 7 in our bed...I counted them when I couldn't sleep.

This is what my life has come to.  Crossword puzzles and iphone games.  Blah.  I get SO bored at night because I can't sleep with this big ole boot on, plus my ankle just aches all night long {especially on cold nights thanks to all of my hardware :(}.

One of my favorite things that I see daily are sweet little notes the boys put on my nightstand during the day so I'll be surprised when I go to bed. :)  I am so blessed!!!  The white one if from Cale and the green one is from Coby {it had a sucker attached...doesn't get much better than that!} 

my water {I have never been so thirsty in my life} and daily morning meds {so I don't have to go to the kitchen to get them}  A book is also a must!  I started and finished an entire book two nights ago.  It cured my night time boredom and took my mind off of the pain,  but boy was I tired the next day!

Good thing I'm not much of a T.V. watcher while in bed because if I were my view would be quite obstructed!

my trusty knee walker is always by the bed.  I have to get up many times during the night {it's all that water!}.  My basket carries my magazines, house shoe {not shoe(s) since I only need one.  It hangs out up there because that is one thing that Ellie likes to chew}, chap stick, the rest of my boot that I don't sleep with  and other "necessities".}  And something that is not a change is Ellie all curled up in her bed.  She always sleeps like that. :)

What can I say?  I was bored last night.  This was at midnight...couldn't sleep. :(  

This is probably the funniest change.  If I want to soak in the tub {and when it's cold, I do want to!} I have to cover my right leg with this little number.  Ahem.  You should see it when it's all rolled up.  I laugh every time I put it on but I am SO thankful to have it.

turkey lunch

Darren and I had the privilege of eating with Cale at school today.  I'm sure many other parents wouldn't feel the same, but I love the schools Thanksgiving Feast and actually look forward to eating there.  It was a tasty meal.

Waiting in line...this boy needs a haircut bad!

Cale had to turn a turkey into a community worker.  Of course we had to make him into a k-9 police officer.  Our instructions were that he had to have something on the face and feathers depicting the career.  Thanks to GramPat we came up with this....

Meet Officer Mitt Romney (Cale named him...so funny!)

reading machine

This has become a common sight in our house lately...

Cale absolutely loves to read.  Actually all three of the boys love reading.  BUT for today I want to remember this about Cale.  Up until a few months ago he absolutely despised reading.  In fact, he would tell everyone that he didn't know how to read (which was NOT true and we knew it because he has known all of his letter sounds for years...he learned them way back when Coby learned them and WE knew that Cale could read, but he sure didn't want anyone else to think he could.  Grrr.).

This all changed when he started first grade.  We really lucked out with Cale's teacher this year.  She has her masters in {something to do with} reading SO she really pushes reading on her class.  Within a week of being in her class she had Cale totally excited about  reading.  It was amazing how all of the sudden he had this strong desire to read and he just fell in love with it!  Now he is constantly walking around with a book in his hands.  Back before he "knew how to read" he would choose dinosaur books and dinosaur dictionaries to read.  Now he's moved onto learning about snakes and ocean creatures (I had NO idea there were so many types of snakes!).  But what really cracks me up are the books he chooses at the school library.  He goes as often as he can (sometimes more than once a day) and he usually brings home one or two biographies home to read to me.  I am learning about all kinds of people that I've never heard of. :)  I love it.  I wonder how many other first graders choose biographies?  He loves them and loves learning about people from the past.

Tonight when I went to have him turn his lights out, I caught him reading his first {big for him} chapter book.  I guess he raided Coby's bookshelf.  He is about a quarter of the way through a Geronimo Stilton book and he seems to be enjoying it.

I just love that Cale has finally decided that reading is fun.  Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and I am so glad that my boys enjoy it as much as I do.

{I just have to add that Cale told me a month or so ago that the more he reads, the more stamina he is building for reading. I LOVE it! :)}

well child check-ups

I took the boys to the doctor at the end of July for their well child check-ups.  I think they enjoyed the visit WAY too much....

Connor had four shots and apparently a lot of kids his age pass out afterward.  So, they wanted him to lie down for 10 minutes before we could be released.  

this lasted all of 30 seconds after the nurse left and then the boys were back to their shenanigans....

the three stooges...thankful that they're all smiles even on shot days (only for Connor)

Here are the stats for the year...

Connor was 74 pounds (two months later he now weighs 78 lbs) and 56 inches tall.  All signs pointed to the fact that he is in puberty.  SO not thrilled about that.

Coby was 66 pounds (however just two months later he is weighing in at 71 lbs) and 51.5 inches tall.

Cale was 40 pounds and 44 inches tall (and two months later he is still 40 pounds).

I am so thankful for these wild, healthy, energetic boys!

fall ball

Connor started fall ball several weeks ago.  Fall ball is my favorite time for sure.  The weather is great and it is more relaxed that the regular season which in nice.  Connor is having a great season...he is such a great little baseball player.  I love watching him play and he just seems so at ease when he is on the field.  I had to laugh at one of the parents the other night.  They were getting frustrated that their own son kept striking out.  Then Connor was up to bat.  The dad said, "Well at least Connor's up.  He'll get a hit...he always gets a hit.  We can always count on Connor.  He's predictable."  He just went on and on about what a great hitter Connor is and commented that he is also an excellent fielder.  He kept talking about what a great ball player Connor is.  I love hearing other people brag on my boy!  I'm so proud to be his mom...he is a GREAT kid.

I wish I had a picture of Connor from the fall season but I don't :(  However, I do have a picture from after Thursday night's game.  Connor got nailed in the shoulder while at bat.  It was a hard hit, but Connor was such a trooper.  I was so proud of him (I know he wanted to cry but there is NO way he'd do that in front of his friends).

this picture doesn't do it justice.  It was so red in person.  

Poor guy.  Hopefully next weeks games will be a bit less painful.

Labor Day

We went to mom and dad's house for Labor Day.  The boys had their last swim of the summer (except for Connor who likes to play in the game room instead...he doesn't have a love of swimming).  Everyone but Justin and Emily came over and we had a great time.

I took the pool pics before everyone arrived.  Once everyone was there the pool was full!

Cale LOVES snorkeling.

the boys had a big backyard ballgame

mom working hard in the kitchen

dad grilling the burgers and hot dogs

       

random things for me to remember about Cale

Cale loves to read dinosaur books and I thought it was just precious when I found him like this the one night in August...

Cale finally hit 40 pounds back in July.  In August I finally let him move out of his carseat and into a booster.  He was so excited....it was like a whole new world opened up for him (he could actually move around without being restrained by the five point harness, he could see out the front window and even touch the driver's seat with his hand...these were all big things to him). 

As Cale prayed one night he thanked God for sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  After we all prayed, Cale said,
"Are you embarassed of my prayer? 
You've never heard the words come out of me?

Cuz I'm glad Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  

But I'm sad that he died.

Hopefully he died for our sins though."

Another night as Cale was walking naked thru the house he said, "This is how I roll."  
me:  How's that?  
Cale: Being naked is how I roll.

There was a commercial about periods one day.  Connor and I were kind of rolling our eyes and saying really!?!  Cale piped in and said, "We already know about periods."
Connor and I:  Oh?
Cale:  Yeah, periods go at the end of works (duh!). 

The Wii froze up on Coby one afternoon and Coby was a bit agitated.  Cale told Coby:  It happens to me a lot and I get angry because I have anger issues.  (haha)

I love this little boy so much!!!!

the fair

The boys were out of school yesterday so we decided to spend the afternoon at the State Fair.  It was Cale's first time to go (actually he's been before but he was still in my tummy!).  It has been 7 years since we've been so the boys had no memories of our last visit.  Why has it been so long?  Darren HATES the fair and I hate spending money on things like the fair.  BUT, this year the boys really wanted to go and I wanted them to have the experience of going.  I thought I'd do Darren a favor and just take the boys, but to my surprise he asked me to wait until he could go with us. We had a lot of fun and I'm so glad we went, but I think we were all ready to leave after several hours.  I took a few pics with my phone and they are all blurry, but I want to remember this day....it may be seven more years before we go again :)

Cale didn't like the smell in the children's building (where there are lots of animals to pet) 

He held his nose nearly the ENTIRE time we were in there!

Cale's only request was that he could get cotton candy.  He was a happy boy!